Purpose and and legal basis regarding the collection and processing and the provision of personal data

General Notes regarding the purpose and the legal basis

Art. 4 (1b) GDPR is the legal basis if processing is required in order to perform a contract of which you are a contracting party, or in order to implement measures necessary before the conclusion of a contract following your request.

Art. 6 (1c) GDPR is the legal basis if processing of personal data is required in order for us to comply with the applicable legal obligations.

Art. 6 (1f) GDPR is the legal basis if the processing is required in order to protect an interest which affects us or a third party, and if your interests, fundamental rights and freedoms do not outweigh this interest.

Art. 6 (1a) GDPR is the legal basis if the processing of personal data is made with your consent.

Usage of the website

Within the framework of the provision and keeping of the website we process personal data of the visitors of the website in compliance with the legal provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The collection and processing of data serves, in particular, to ensure the functionality of the website to offer our contents, as the case may be, to communicate with you and to offer and perform services.

There is no statutory or contractual obligation to provide personal data when you visit our website. However, if you do not provide such data, the functionality of our website may be restricted or impossible.

Contractual matters

We collect the personal data required for the purposes of the conclusion or processing of contracts as well as for the purposes of answering your enquiries prior to a contract.

This includes:

in the case of a request of contact: your name and means of contact (phone, email or fax)

in the case of a conclusion and processing of contract: your name, address, contact information (phone, email or fax), possibly also VAT identification number and information regarding existing register entries (esp. in the trade register), the name and contact information of a contact person designed by you, bank details (esp. in the case of a SEPA debit order), date of birth.

These data are stored and used exclusively in order to reply to your contact requests prior to a contract, and within the framework of contract conclusion and processing and any related accounting and tax matters, in order to correspond with you, to identify you as our contractual partner, for billing and settling of accounts and to be able to enforce any claims (esp. payment claims) arising from the contractual relationship. Data of our contractual partners, information regarding the contracts concluded with you and accounting information are stored in our computer system in a customer/supplier account.

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 4 (1) first sentence of the GDPR.

You must provide the necessary personal data for us to process your request prior to contract and for contract conclusion and processing. The provision is required according to the statutory provisions of the civil and tax law, in particular, and, as the case may be, according to the contractual obligation. Without these data we cannot process your request, nor accept or make orders or conclude and perform a contract with you and may therefore need to end an existing contractual relationship.

General request of contact

The legal basis for data processing of your contact request is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1f of the GDPR in the case of a general request of contact without relation to a conclusion of contract, since we have a legitimate interest in answering your request and you naturally expect us to reply.

You are free to make a request of contact, however, for the processing of such a request you need to provide your personal data. Otherwise we cannot process your request.

Further detailed information on the individual stages of data processing regarding your personal data may be found in below in the special notes on data processing.

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Further details are provided in the special notes on data processing.

Transfer of data

Usage of the website

Data gathered within the framework of website usage can, as the case may be, be transferred to technical service providers supporting us (e.g. website hosting and maintenance or mailing services) to ensure the provision of the website and for the purposes mentioned above. These service providers were carefully chosen and commissioned to comply with data protection requirements. These service providers are bound by instructions and regular inspections by us.

Contractual matter

We transfer your personal data only to third service providers if this is required to perform an existing contract with you. Data is transferred to a delivery service provider commissioned if goods need to be shipped and to the assigned payment service provider for the processing of payment in the necessary scope. (Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) first sentence of the GDPR)

Other transfer

Personal data may also be transferred in accordance with Art. 6 (1) first sentence of the GDPR if it is required for the assertion, exertion or defence of legal claims, or if we are subject to a legal obligation to transfer data (Art. 6 (1c) GDPR).

Duration of storage

We store personal data

as long as it is required for the execution of the existing contractual relationship with you or the performance of measures prior to conclusion of contract (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) sentence 1c of GDPR),

and until the end of the storage periods defined by tax and trade law (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) sentence 1c of the GDPR). The storage and documentations periods according to the Commercial Code and the General Tax Code are between six and ten years.

Once the storage periods have expired, we delete the data, unless you have expressly declared your consent for further use. (Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) sentence 1a of the GDPR).

In the case of a simple contact request of an informative nature without relation to a contract, the stored personal data will be deleted once we assume that the aim of your request has been accomplished and when there are no conflicting statutory retention periods which we need to comply with.

Please read below about further storage periods regarding automated data collection within the framework of the operation of the website.

Your rights (information, objection, rectification, complaint, etc.)

You have the following rights regarding your personal data we store:

the right of access to these data according to Art. 15 GDPR;

the right to immediate rectification of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete personal data concerning you according to Art. 16 GDPR;

the right to erasure according to Art. 17 GDPR;

the right to restriction of processing according to Art. 18 GDPR;

the right to data portability according to Art. 20 GDPR;

the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority according to Art. 77 GDPR;

According to Art. 7 (3) GDPR you have the right to withdraw your consent to data procession at any time, the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal is not affected hereby.

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RIGHT TO OBJECT ACCORDING TO ART. 21 GDPR

You have the right to object at any time for reasons due to your particular situation against the processing of personal data concerning you which is done in compliance with Art. 6 (1e) GDPR (data processing carried out in public interest) and Art. 6 (1f) GDPR (data processing on the basis of consideration of interests); this shall also apply to profiling supported by this provision in the sense of Art. 4 (4) GDPR. If you object, we shall no longer process your personal data, unless we can prove compelling reasons requiring protection for the processing of your data which outweigh your interests, rights and freedoms, or unless their processing serves the assertion, exertion or defence of legal claims.

OBJECTIONS NEED NOT FOLLOW A PARTICULAR FORM.

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For further details please see the specified provisions of the GDPR.

II. Data Protection regarding the Visit of our Website

Server Log Files

When using the website the following information on your browser - if your browser provides it - is automatically transmitted to the server on which the website is based and temporarily stored in so-called “server log files”:

day and time of access

browser type / browser version

used operating system

URL referrer

host name of the accessing computer

volume of the sent data in bytes

access status (file transferred, file not found, etc.)

loading times

last visited website

used IP address (as the case may be in anonymised version)

These data may not be assigned to particular persons by us. These data are not merged with other data resources. In the case that we need to evaluate data, it is done anonymously.

Storage and processing is performed based on our legitimate interests (Art. 6 (1f) GDPR) in order to enable usage of the website as well as for statistical purposes and to guarantee functionality and stability of the website. This data is not transferred of merged with other data sources. If illegal use of the website is suspected, however, this data may be investigated.

Use of Cookies

We use cookies on our website.

General information on cookies

Cookies are small text files which are saved by a web server on an end device (e.g. computer, tablet, smart phone) of the user. These text files enable analysis of the user behaviour when visiting the website and to use it for targeted product recommendations and interest-based advertising, for instance. This information contains, for example: browser type/version, operating system, URL referrer (source of a link), IP address (hostname of the used computer, possibly reduced for the purposes of anonymisation), time of the server request, duration of the visit to the website, visited website.

Session cookies are only temporary and are automatically deleted when the browser is closed. Persistent cookies, on the other hand, are saved on the end device which opens the website and make it possible to recognize the respective browser when the website is visited again. A cookie can be sent back to an opened website (so-called “first party cookie”) or to another website (so-called “third party cookie”).

Types of cookies used

On our website we generally use session cookies (PHPSESSID) for the operation of the website. These cookies save the current session regarding the PHP application and therefore guarantee that all the functions of the site which are based on the PHP programming language can be fully displayed. They serve to ensure offered functions (such as language selection).

Cookies of third party providers may be used within the framework of advertising offers and displays on the website. These are used to present advertisements customized to the website user, to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertisement and to enable appropriate invoicing within the advertisement network. Furthermore, cookies of special web tools (esp. analysis tools, tracking) may be used.

If applicable, please find further information about the special usage of such cookies for purposes of advertising and website analysis in this Data Protection Declaration under a special section.

Usage with/without cookies: You can adjust the configuration of your browser so as to be informed of the placing of cookies and to then decide whether you accept the cookies, or you can block the saving of cookies completely in your browser configuration. This may, however, lead to restrictions in functionality when using our website. Please use the help menu of your browser to find information on respective browser configuration settings. You can delete saved cookies at any time. Deletion may be completed as an automated routine.

Please note that the functionality of the website may be restricted if you do not accept cookies.

Furthermore, there are special programmes or internet services that can enable anonymous surfing.

Purpose and legal basis for the use of cookies

Cookies are used to permanently improve the usability of the website and to optimize the advertisement offer within the framework of user interests. Technically necessary cookies simplify the usage and enable certain functionalities, in particular ones for which it is necessary that the browser is recognized again when websites are changed (examples: shopping basket functions, language settings, memorisation of search terms). By using analysis cookies, website usage can be studied and the handling can be optimized constantly to avoid usage problems. The data gained by cookies are an important resource for this.

Thus is the predominant legitimate interest we have according to Art. 6 (1f) GDPR. In any case, as shown above, you may take appropriate measures in order to use the website anonymously or to block the saving of cookies, which might, however, restrict functionality of the website.

Art. 6 (1b) GDPR is the legal basis if we use cookies for the implementation of a contract concluded with you (e.g. order of goods) or for the implementation of measures prior to contract conclusion resulting from your request.

The use of special cookies can, as the case may be, require your consent which we shall ask you for when necessary.

By opening sites which have integrated Google Maps, information on your usage of our website is transmitted directly to the server of Google in the USA and stored there as well as processed in usage profiles. If you are logged in to your Google customer account, these usage data are directly assigned to your user profile. If you do not agree with this, we recommend that you log out of any Google user account(s) prior to usage of our website.

The legal basis for data collection and evaluation by Google is Art. 6 (1f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the usage of Google Maps in order to guarantee an attractive representation of our web offer and easy overview of the sites specified on our website, in particular for our non-local customers. Furthermore, Google has a legitimate interest in the representation of personalised advertising, in market research and in a design of its web service which is tailored to market needs.

You can completely deactivate the web service of Google Maps by disabling JavaScript in your browser. The display of maps and the functions connected to it are then no longer available on our website.

Please find further information in the Terms of Service and the Data Protection Terms of Google here:

Google Web Fonts

Google Web Fonts are used on the website. These are fonts which were designed for uniform and faultless representation of websites and will be distributed by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA („Google“). Google is certified according to the data protection agreement “Privacy Shield” which was made between the USA and the European Union and which guarantees that the data protection provisions applicable in the EU are complied with.

The Web Fonts serve a uniform representation of fonts. If your browser does not support Web Fonts, your computer will use one of its own standard fonts.

Google Web Fonts are loaded when the website is opened in the cache (temporary storage) of your browser. To do this, your browser connects to the servers of Google and thus Google is notified that our website was opened by your IP address.

The service of Google Web Fonts is in the interest of a uniform and attractive representation of our online offers. This constitutes a legitimate interest in the sense of Art. 6 (1) f of the GDPR.

The data requested within the process of your registration for the newsletter is automatically forwarded to MailChimp and stored on their server in the USA. The data is transferred on our behalf for the provision and dispatch of our electronic newsletters as well as for the statistical evaluation of our newsletters. Using web beacons or tracking pixels (single pixel image files saved on our website), which are used for sending newsletters, it is possible to determine whether a newsletter is opened and which links, if any, are activated. In addition, information such as IP address, type of browser used and operating system, date and time of access are automatically recorded. However, data collection is exclusively pseudonymised. This data is not connected to or associated with your personal data. These data are not merged with other data sources.

The legal basis is Article 6 (1a) GDPR. The dispatch of the newsletter and the data processing required for this takes place after your registration and consent.

Another legal basis is Art. 6 (1f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in the use of a functional, safe and effective newsletter system for our advertising. In addition, MailChimp has a legitimate interest in a demand-oriented design and functional optimization of the newsletter service. However, MailChimp will not use your data to contact you or to pass the data on to third parties.

We have a Data Processing Agreement with MailChimp on the basis of the standard contractual clauses of the European Commission. This ensures that your personal data is transferred to MailChimp in accordance with data protection regulations. You can find samples of the contract under the following link:

If you do not agree with this data processing, you must unregister from MailChimp. As long as you subscribe to the newsletter, the data will be stored. After unregistration the data will be deleted.

Contact form and email communication

We collect the data required to answer your inquiry through our contact form. This data is stored by us and used exclusively to answer your contact inquiries and for the associated technical administration. We cannot process your request without this data. This also applies to your email enquiries. (Please note that when communicating via unencrypted emails, unauthorized access by third parties cannot be excluded.)

The legal basis for the processing of your contact requests is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1f GDPR, since we have a legitimate interest in responding to your request.

If contact is established on the basis of a contractual declaration or sought within the framework of an existing contractual relationship, the legal basis is Art. 6 (1) sentence 1b GDPR.

The stored personal data will be deleted if we assume that the reason for your inquiry has been settled and if there are no conflicting statutory retention periods which we need to comply with.

In the case of statutory retention periods, the data will be deleted after the expiry of these periods.

Data will not be deleted if you have expressly declared you consent for further use (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) sentence 1a GDPR).

Anonymous use

To use the website without the collection and transmission of your data, you have the option of deactivating cookies, or you can open the website using an anonymisation service or using a so-called “do not track me” tool (e.g. http://donottrack.us/) or suitable add-ons for your browser (e.g. http://noscript.net/), in particular for blocking plugins.

External links

We have no responsibility or influence regarding compliance with data protection on websites of third parties which are linked on our website. Please find information on data protection regulations on the respective linked websites.